Introducing The Sunshine Place

Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a radical claim: It could cure heroin addiction. Before long, it would make an even bolder claim: It could cure any of your problems. All you had to do was move in. What started in a house on the beach, soon spread to compounds across the country. The man who made the miracle happen, Charles E. Dederich, aka “Chuck,” would be the one to destroy it all, along with the lives of many of his followers and millions of dollars in assets. The Sunshine Place tells the mind-blowing, true-story of Synanon - one of America’s most cutting edge social experiments, turned into one of its most dangerous and violent cults - as it’s never been told before: by the people who lived it. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey and C13Originals, together with Josh McLaughlin for Wink Pictures and written, produced, and directed by Peabody-nominated C13Originals, a Cadence13 Studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Spectacle is a series that analyzes the cultural and societal implications of your guilty pleasures. From reality TV to true crime, Spectacle simultaneously celebrates and critiques the media, people and places that define us. For advertising opportunities, contact podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. SEASON 3: This season of Spectacle delves into the history of true crime -- from the cases that shook us to our core, to its passionate audience, and what narratives and stereotypes it reinforces in our culture. From Sony Music Entertainment. Spectacle: True Crime is available June 23rd. SEASON 2: Las Vegas It's a city that has defined popular culture. An oasis in the desert, a mirage — a playground for adults replete with casinos, showgirls, and all-you-can-eat buffets. But how did Vegas become “Sin City”? From the genesis of shotgun weddings, to film portrayals of the mob-era, to the social engineering behind mega-casinos…season 2 of Spectacle explores the fabulous, the incorrigible, Las Vegas. SEASON 1: Reality TV Reality TV is dismissed as guilty pleasure, low brow... even trash. But whether you want to admit it or not, you probably have heard of Snooki, Lisa Vanderpump or Kim Kardashian. Over the past 30 years, reality TV has become a place to see the social and political moment play out in real time -- from racial tensions on The Real World New York to gender dynamics on The Bachelor. On this season, join host Mariah Smith as she dissects the history of the genre one show at a time, revealing how it's shaped our culture and how our culture shaped it.